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BOB LONGE

lO 987654321
Published by Sterling Publishing Co., Inc.

387 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10016

© 2005 by Sterling Publishing Co., Inc.

This book is connprised of nnaterial fronn


the following Sterling Publishing Co., Inc. title:

Clever Card Tricks f^r the Hopelessly Clumsy © 2005


by Sterling Publishing Co., Inc.

Design by StarGraphics Studio

Printed in China
All rights reserved

Sterling ISBN 1-4027-3137-X

For information about custom editions, special sales, premium and


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Department at 800-805-5489 or specialsales(a)sterlingpub.com.
TABU Of CONHNTS

INTRODUCTION 7

MOVES & MANEUVERS lO


Preposterous Patter lO
Contro 13

False Cuts 16

Milking the Cards 21

The Up-and-Down Shuffle 23


What If Things Go Wrong? 25

HIDE 8i SEEK 26
Prints of Magic 26
The Fooler 28
Lucky Card Location 29

MAGIC SPELLS 31
Simple Speller 31

Nine to One 33

oirn A RLACK MAGIC 36


Stop Sign 36
The One & Only 38
LONG-DISTANCE CALLS 40
Phony Coincidence 40
Are You There? 42
Something to Sniff At 44

SPECIAL ARRANGESVIENTS 45
Easy Opener 45
It's in Your Hands 47
Cutting the Aces 49
"Guts" Poker 52

ALL IN THE MIND 54


You Might Wonder 54
Lie Like a Rug 56
Perfectly Mental 57
The Bamboozler 59
The Hocus-Pocus Pairs 61

I NDEX 64
INTRODUCTION

An argument can be made that almost every calling


requires some amount of selling. It's certainly true of such
diverse occupations as teaching, medicine, journalism,
and law. And it's especially true of the performance of
magic. The tricks are your product; the performance is

selling.

A sales representative doesn't simply run the vacuum


cleaner and expect a sale; he explains the benefits, indi-

cates how much easier life will be, and paints a picture of

total cleanliness accomplished with ease. And with magic,


you don't just perform a trick and hope for the best: You
must sell the trick. Some magicians, particularly stage per-
formers, accomplish this with props, music, costumes, and
such. Even so, in most instances the principal selling tool
is the voice.
This is certainly true of card tricks. Apart from the
deck itself, what other tools do you have? So you should
use your voice cleverly and thoughtfully. What are you
trying to sell? Yourself, of course. The group should feel

that you're a good person. If you are, this should be an


easy sell. So let's not worry about that. Basically, then,
you're trying to sell the spectators on the validity of the
trick you're doing. In other words, you're trying to fool
them. And, at the same time, you want to entertain the m.
Your patter, your demeanor, your entire presentation
should be aimed at this dual goal.

So try to develop patter for each trick. Give it a lot of

thought. Present a story that's either serious or amusing.


but is always interesting. Perhaps include an anecdote or
two. (If you tell a joke and people laugh, that's a joke. If

you tell a joke and nobody laughs, that's an illustrative

anecdote.) You can orally create an atmosphere of mys-


tery, recount a tale that will misdirect the attention of the
group, or make a series of silly remarks that evoke laugh-
ter. The possibilities are endless.

As you practice a trick, be sure to include the patter.

Thus your patter will improve as you perfect the mechan-


ics, and you'll end up with a perfectly integrated and
entertaining trick.
In this book you'll find a fascinating collection of card
tricks that especially lend themselves to patter, for you're
involved in all sorts of mental magic: prediction, strange
coincidence, telepathy, feats of the conscious mind, and a
number of hilarious mental tricks. Patter themes should
readily spring to mind. If they don't, however, I offer pat-
ter suggestions for almost every trick.

When you decide to do mental magic with cards, you


must decide whether you're going to be serious about it

or not. Are you going to purport that you have superior


mental powers? I prefer to be just as baffled as the rest of
the group, taking the attitude, "I don't know why it works;
it just does." I figure that I'm just doing card tricks; why
would I want to pretend that I have some sort of mysteri-
ous access to the ultimate powers of the universe?
A deck of cards is ideal for performing mental magic
because so much variety is possible. In fact, using some of
the tricks presented here, you can do an entire show of
mental magic. Or— my preference— you can include sev-
eral as a part of your regular program.
If you prefer not to do mental magic, you may perform
many of these items as simply mystifying card tricks. The
only difference is the patter.
I'm very proud of this collection, and I'm sure you'll find

many tricks that you'll enjoy performing.


MOYtS & MANtUVtRS

f-^reposterouS f-^atter

Here we have some patter lines that many find funny.

Some are original, but most have been concocted by oth-


ers, and are quite ancient. Obviously, a joke isn't old to
someone who hasn't heard it before, so you may find

some of these useful.

But that is not my main purpose in presenting them to


you. I hope that you'll observe the sort of lines that have
found success. As with all humor, you'll find here the
unexpected, the well-turned phrase, or the just-plain-silly.

Perhaps some of these will give you some ideas on how to


develop lines of your own to use with your tricks. In all of
the tricks presented here, you will find patter suggestions
that may inspire you to devise original comical lines to

enhance your performance.


On the other hand, depending on your nature, you may
decide to make a more serious presentation. Regardless,
here are the lines, most of which are very familiar to expe-
rienced magicians.

Would you like to see a card trick? All right, then I'll

have to get out my trick cards. I'm kidding. This is an


ordinary deck of marked cards. Yes, they're marked.
See the marks? This is a queen of spades. This is a 7

of hearts. This is a 5 of clubs. They're all marked."


2 "Take a card, any card . .
."
The spectator does; ". . .

except that one."


3 "We have here an ordinary deck of 57 cards."

4 Point up one sleeve. "Nothing here." Point up the


other sleeve. "Nothing here." Point to your head. "And
very little here."

5 "I believe your card is a cherry-colored card."

"No, it isn't."

"You've never heard of black cherries?"

6 "Your card is a licorice-colored card."

"No, it isn't."

"You've never heard of red licorice?"

7 "Do you know one card from the other?"


"Sure."
"Okay. Name one card. Come on . . . you can do it."

"6 of spades."

"Excellent. Now for something really tough. What's


the other?"
"Jack of spades."
"Right! You do know one card from the other. Terrific

job!"

8 "I am the most amazed person when one of my


experiments happens to work. The magical result
just astonishes me. When do I this stunt, however, I

seldom have to worry about that."


With the right spectator, you might even be moder-
ately insulting: "Hold out your hand, please. . . No,
the clean one. Just kidding. Heck, my hands are
almost as dirty as yours."

lO "Take a card. Now show it to your friends. This


shouldn't take long."

"This is the first time I've ever made that mistake. . .

again."

12 "I can't believe it! This entire deck of cards is printed


upside down. Of course it's kind of hard to tell."
L^ontroi
Every magician who does card tricks must have some way
of controlling a card after it has been chosen. Most meth-
ods require considerable skill. Here's one that's very easy.

Sirr "self

In some instances, this control works best. For example,


you might want to bring the chosen card to a fairly high

number from the top. This would do perfectly, as I'll

explain.

Illus.

Before the spectator chooses a card, sneak a peek at


the bottom card of the deck. You can do this as you sep-
arate the deck in two, preparing to do a riffle shuffle (Illus.

l). Then, when you shuffle, keep the card on the bottom.
Easier yet, look at the bottom card as you tap the side of
the deck on the table, apparently evening up the cards
(Illus. 2).

So you know the bottom card of the deck. Fan out the
deck, and a spectator selects a card. Close up the deck.
From the top of the deck, lift off a small packet and drop
that the key card becomes the top card of the deck (lllus.

4). Just below it, of course, is the chosen card. Turn the
deck face down,
"I can't seem to find your card." Turn over the top card
of the deck (the key card). "This isn't it, is it?" No. Turn the
card over and stick it into the middle of the deck. Turn the
deck face up. "How about this one?" No. Take the bottom
card and stick it into the middle of the deck. Turn the
deck face down. The chosen card is at your disposal on
top of the deck.
Suppose, for purposes of a specific trick, you want the
chosen card to be tenth from the top. Again you start by
fanning off small groups and cutting them to the rear of
the deck. When you get to the chosen card, you start

counting to yourself. You count the chosen card as "One."


Count the next card as "Two." Cut the cards so that the
card at "Ten" becomes the top card. The chosen card is

now tenth from the top.


^al5e L^utd
An efficient false cut should be done casually, just as a

genuine cut would be performed. Often magicians


manipulate the cards back and forth between their
hands, rapidly shift piles here and there, and finally end
up with a single pile. Naturally, spectators don't know
exactly what happened, but they sure as heck know that
something phony was done. This is not always bad;
sometimes it's alright to show that you're skillful. But
many of us prefer to keep our skills— however minimal-
secret. I recommend this.

Just a Casual Cut


Hold the deck in your left hand. With your right hand, lift

off the top portion of the deck and place it face down
onto the table. Make some casual remark. At the same
time, without looking at the card, take the rest of the deck
with your right hand. Place this pile to the right of those
on the table.

Continue commenting. Glance down at the cards on


the table. Pick up the pile on the right and place it on top
of those on the left. Pick up the combined pile.

The cards retain their original order.

And Another
With the left hand, take the bottom portion of the deck.
The left hand should be palm down, and the packet
should be grasped with the second finger at the far end,
the first finger on top, and the thumb at the near end. The
top portion of the deck is retained in your right hand
Illus. 6

(lllus. 5). Gesture with the left hand as you make a com-
ment. At the same time, drop your right hand somewhat,
so that it becomes lower than the left hand.
Place the left-hand portion onto the table. Put the
right-hand portion on top of it (lllus. 6). Pick up the entire
deck with the right hand.
The cards are back in order.

Roll-Up Cut
I designed this cut specifically for the gambling trick
"Really Wild," which appears in my book World's Greatest
Card Tricks. There is no sleight of hand, and the deck is

kept in order.
O '
///us. lO

down onto your right hand. Place it face down to your left.

Flip the rest of the deck over with your left thumb so
that the cards are now face down. As before, if this is too
difficult, just turn the cards face down with your right
hand.
With your right thumb, lift about a third of the face-
down cards on the left side. Pivot these over, as before
(as though opening a book from the back). Let the packet
fall face up onto your right hand. Set the packet onto the
table a few inches to the right of the first packet.
Again, flip the rest of the deck over with your left

thumb, or turn it face up with your right hand. With your


right thumb, pivot off about half of the cards and set them
face down on the table to the right of the other two pack-
ets.

Remaining in your left hand is a packet of face-up


cards. Take the packet into your right hand and set it face
up to the right of the others. Pause, saying, "Now comes
the hard part."
With your right hand, grasp the right side of the packet
you just placed down. Turn this packet over on top of the
packet to its left, as though closing the back portion of a
book (lllus. lo). In the same way, turn the combined packet
over and place it on the packet to its left. Once more, turn
the combined packet over and place it on the packet to
its left— the first packet you placed down.
Even up the cards. The deck is face down and in the
precise order it was at the beginning.
If you follow the instruction with a deck of cards, it will

seem that the cards can't possibly be in their original

order. It just doesn't seem logical. Maybe I should have


called it the "illogical cut."

Note
When lifting off the packets to place them onto the table,
you may prefer to grasp them at the ends with the palm
down right hand, fingers at the outer end and thumb at

the inner end. As with the other method, you pivot the
packet in an arc to the right, as though opening a book
from the back. Then place the packet onto the table.
f If [iikina tke L^arcid
This is actually a fairly simple procedure with a small

packet of cards. The idea is to slide off the top and bot-
tom cards together and place the two together onto the
table. Again, you slide off the top and bottom cards

together and place these two on top of the first two. You
continue like this until the pile is exhausted. The move is
important in quite a few tricks.
Let's get more specific. Hold
lllus. 11 ^^""^^-^^^"^^ a packet of cards from
above in your palm-down
left hand, thumb at the
inner end, first finger rest-

ing loosely on top, and the


other fingers at the outer
end (lllus. ll). Your palm-up
right hand lightly grips the top and
bottom cards, thumb on top and fingers on the bottom.
The right hand pulls the top and bottom cards to the right

until they clear the packet (lllus. 12).

lllus. 12
The two cards are set onto the table. Draw off two
more cards, dropping thenn on top of the first two.
Continue until all the cards are in a pile on the table.

O^.
q:
^ke l/ip-aua- cJJoii/n J^ka
Anytime you perform this maneuver, you refer to it as a
shuffle. Actually, it is not. It's a subtle method of rearrang-
ing the cards to your advantage. Usually, it is performed
with a packet of cards— somewhere between ten and 25.
Start by holding the packet in the left hand in the deal-
ing position. Push off the top card with your left thumb
and take
with your
from you)
in your

Move
it

left

right

or so below the
with your right hand. Push off the next card

a bit.
thumb. Move your

the cards
Take

first

in
this
right

second card below the


hand. This second card should be two inches
card.
your right
hand forward (away

hand back toward you.


first card
i
Push off a third card with your left thumb. Take it below
the first two cards so that it is even with the first card you
Irew o ff.
Move the cards in your right hand back toward you.
Push off a fourth card with your left thumb. This card goes

lilus. 15
/O
on top of the others and is even
with the second card you drew
off (lllus. 13).

Continue alternating like

this until the packet is


lllus. 14

exhausted. Hold the


upper group with your
left hand as, with your
right hand, you strip out the
lower group from the others
(lllus. 14). This group goes on
top of the cards remaining in

your left hand.

Notes
Depending on the trick, in the first move

of the shuffle you may move the top card down or


toward you, the next card up, the next card down, and
so forth.

Depending on the trick, when you strip out the lower


group (the cards nearest you), these will sometimes
go below the cards you hold in your left hand.

Speed is not needed for this maneuver. If you take


your time, you can do it quite easily.
uUnut JjrL ^klnaS Ljo l/i/rona.

You have the wrong card! For some inexplicable reason,


the trick simply didn't work.
There are two cardinal rules: (l) Under no conditions
try the trick again. (2) Don't blame the spectators.
You failed; accept it. Why did you fail? The possibilities

are unlimited. Try one of these excuses, for instance:


"Just what I thought, the deck was too slippery."
is now one to nothing, your favor."
"Well, the score
"What was your card?" She names it. "Just as sus- I

pected. That's my 'bad luck' card."


"I'm not surprised. That trick never works. Let's try one
that does."
"You have to admit one thing: If that worked, it would
have been one heck of a great trick."

"It's my fault, really. I washed my hands this morning


and now I can't do a thing with them."
"Gee! And only a few minutes ago, that used to be my
favorite card trick."
I'm sure you can think of dozens of other silly excuses.
The point is: Say something somewhat amusing and then
get on with it; show another trick— preferably one that
you're sure will work. Most will forget that you ever
goofed up. And many will think it's all part of the show.
Above all, don't let it bother you. Remain composed as
you proceed with your tricks. The old show-biz saying

applies here: "Don't let them see you sweat."


HID{ & SHK

f-^rints Of I lllaa ic

Walter Gibson invented the main idea; I've combined it

v^ith a wonderful old trick.

You must knov^ the name of the top card. A good way
is to sneak a peek at the bottom card and, in an overhand
shuffle, bring that bottom card to the top of the deck. Ask
Henry to think of any number from one to 20, and to deal
off that many cards into a pile on the table.

'N ow, you tell H enry, cut the remainder of the deck
into two piles." After he does so, ask him to shuffle one of
the two piles. Then he is to shuffle the other pile. Finally,
point to the pile he first dealt off. "Please pick up those
cards and hold them facing you so that you can see the
bottom card but I can't. Remember that bottom card.
Now, if you don't mind, just put your thumb print on the
face of that card, right around the middle."
Pick up one of the other two
piles and show Henry exactly

away
together with the other piles and give the entire deck a
shuffle." The card he "chose" is, of course, the card you
originally peeked at.

Turn back and take the pack from Henry. Turn the top
card face up and ask Henry to put his right thumb print on
the face of that card. (If it happens that the top card is the
one he chose, take a bow and quit!) Stare at the card,
ostensibly studying the thumb print. "Very interesting.
Should be easy to identify."

Set the card face up on the table. Turn the deck face
up and begin spreading the cards out, glancing back and
forth from the deck to the thumb-printed card as you try

to find a match. Act this out, pausing here and there to


study a possibility. It works well to go past the chosen
card and, after spreading out several more, go back to it.

Pick it up and compare it closely with the other card. "An


exact match!" you declare. "This must be your card."
^he ^ooleer
I call this trick The Fooler because magician Wally Wilson
completely fooled me with this one. The secret is
extremely subtle.
Ask Kevin to shuffle the deck thoroughly. "Now please
think of a number from five to 15, and deal that many
cards into a face-up pile." Start to turn away, but before

your back is turned, catch a glimpse of the first card Kevin


deals. That first card is your key card. That's it! You're all

done with the sneaky portion of the trick.

"Look at the last card you dealt. That's your chosen


card. In other words, your card is the one that's at your
chosen number. Now cut off a pile from the top of the
deck and set it on the table. Pick up the cards you dealt
off, turn them face down, and place them on top of the

pile in your hands. Put the pile you cut off on top of all."

Turn back to the audience. "There's no doubt now that

your chosen card is buried in the middle of the deck


where I can't possibly find it." Have Kevin give the deck a

few complete cuts.

Take the deck and fan the cards face up before you,
staring at one and then another. No luck. Shake your
head. "I can't seem to get a picture of your card. Maybe
this will help. . What was the number you thought of?"
. .

Suppose Kevin tells you 13. Still puzzled, you fan back and
forth through the face-up cards. When you spot your key
card, start with that card and count 13 cards towards the
face of the deck. The thirteenth one is the selected card.
Tentatively remove the card and place it face down on
the table. "Maybe this is it. What was your card?" Success!
oLuchu
J L^ard oLocatton
The spectator seems to make all the choices, yet you end
up finding the chosen card. R J. Baker had the original

trick, which required a blank card. Since I seldom have


one, I changed the handling slightly.

You must have a complete 52-card deck. Have Leonard


shuffle the deck. Take the cards back, saying, "I have to
find my lucky card. If all goes well, it will help with our next
experiment." Fan through the cards with faces towards
you. You must count to the twenty-fifth card. It will help
allay spectator suspicion if you count the cards in groups
of three. (Separate the cards after you count off 25.) The
twenty-sixth card from the bottom is on the face of the
pile in your left hand (lllus. 16).

"Here's my lucky card," you declare. Name the card. "If

it's to do any good, we'll have to turn it over." Turn it over


in place. Close up the cards. Turn the deck face down.
The twenty-sixth card from the bottom is now face up in

the face-down deck.


Hand the deck back to Leonard, saying, "Please think
of a number from one to ten." Turn away. "Count off that
number of cards from the top, and place them in your
pocket or hide them somewhere else. don't want to I

know your number." Pause. "Now look at the card that lies
at that same number from the top and show it around. But

make sure to keep it at that same number. For instance, if


your number was three, you would look at the third card
from the top. Be sure to remember that card because
now that's your lucky card."
Turn back to the group. "We have my lucky card turned
face up somewhere in the deck. Now let's try my lucky
number. I wanted a lucky number that no one else had, so
I chose 13- Please deal off 13 cards into a pile." Leonard
does so. "Now into another pile, deal as many cards as
you want, but make sure you deal past my lucky card, or
this trick won't work."
When Leonard finishes, pick up the second pile he
dealt and turn it face up. "Take the other pile, Leonard.
Let's deal our cards into separate piles. I'll deal mine face
up; you deal yours face down. We'll do it together so we
match each other card for card. When we come to my
face-down card, we'll stop." Immediately after dealing off
your face-down card, stop the deal. Turn the card over,
saying, "There it is. . .my lucky card." Ask him to name the
card he chose. Point to the last card he dealt and ask him
to turn it over. "Look at that— there's your lucky card."
MAGIC SPELLS

J^ifnpie J^tc eiier


T
The first part of this trick can be done facing the specta-
tors, but I prefer to turn my back. Ask Annette to help by
shuffling the deck. Turn away and give the following
instructions:

"Annette, look through the deck and find any two spot
cards. Place them face up on the table, side by side. Now
deal face-down cards on each one so that the total will

equal ten. For instance, if you have a 7 face up, you would
deal a card face down on it, saying eight. . .deal another,

saying nine. . .and a final card, saying ten— a total of ten.


Do this for both cards."
Pause.
"Notice the total of the two face-up cards. Deal that
many into a separate pile from the top of the deck. Now
look at the top card of the deck and show it around. That's
your chosen card. Replace it on top of the deck and put
the deck on the table. Pick up the pile you counted off,

mix it up, and put the cards on top of the deck. You have
two small piles left on the table. Turn down the face-up
card in each pile. Mix the two piles together and place the
cards on top of the deck."
Turn back to the group. Address Annette: "Why have I

had you go through all this? Two reasons: So that you


would have complete freedom of choice, and so that the
position of the card in the deck would be a complete mys-
tery to me. Therefore, we must resort to magic."

Since the trick is completely self-working, you could


simply proceed. But it's best to give the spectators some-
thing extra to think about. I usually take the pack, give it

one "magic riffle," and return it to my helper. All I do is rif-

fle the ends of the deck upwards.


"I'd like you to spell out a sentence," I say, "dealing out
one card for each letter. Here's the sentence: The next
card will be yours.'"

Guide her through it. Naturally, when she finishes the

spelling, you have her turn over the next card. That's it all

right.

Note
Any 22-letter sentence will work. You can improvise a sen-
tence using the spectator's name, for instance.

o .
i line to ^Jine

This trick was inspired by a Martin Gardner invention and


a derivation by Robert Neale.

In your pocket you have a packet of nine cards. The suits


are unimportant, so from the face of the packet to the top
these are the values: 3, jack, ace, king, 7, 4, 2, jack, 8. Let's

assume that you're using blue-backed cards. The sixth

card from the bottom, the 4, will be red-backed.


Remove the packet from your pocket and turn it face up.
Deal it out in three rows so that, as you look at them, the
cards are laid out like this:

3 J A
K 7 4
2 J 8

Ask Wayne to help out. "This will be a spelling test,

Wayne— but a very easy one. We'll see if you can spell out
the names of these cards. On the first letter, touch the
card you choose to spell. Then you touch the card next to

it or below it for the next letter. And so on. For instance,


if you were spelling seven,' you might do it like this."

Touch the 7 and spell S-E-V-E-N, touching a different


card for each letter in may touch the
the spelling. You
adjoining card on either side, or youmay touch the card
immediately above or below it. You may not, however,
move diagonally. You may, in fact, go back the way you
came and touch cards you've touched previously.
Demonstrate the spelling of seven at least twice. The
second time, demonstrate how Wayne might retrace his

steps and touch a card more than once.


"You may start on any card, and we'll see how many
you can spell."

He spells out a card. Have him hold his finger on the


one he lands on. "Let's get rid of the face cards. Which
one should we turn down first?" Turn over whichever one
he indicates. "This is going to get tough now, because you
have to end up on a face-up card. Now turn over the card
you landed on and then spell it out the same way as you
did the first one. By the way, you can spell on a face-down
card; you just can't land on one."
He starts with the card he landed on and spells out its

value as he did before. Have him hold his finger on it.

"We'd better get rid of another face card. Which one?" He


tells you, and you turn it face down. Again he notes the
card he landed on, turns it face down, and then spells it

out.

"Now we'll get rid of that last face card," you say, turn-
ing it face down.
Wayne continues the spelling process until only one
card remains face up.
"Congratulations, Wayne. You did it perfectly. Remem-
ber now, you had complete freedom of choice as to which
cards you would spell and how you would spell them. And
there's only one card that you chose not to spell."

Turn the remaining card— the 4— face down in place.

The red back stands out among the blue-backed cards.

"Well, no wonder. It doesn't fit in with all the rest."


Note
Why does this work? As I indicated, something of a math-
ematical principle is in operation. Cards can be spelled
out in three, four, or five letters. Since some cards are
spelled out with an odd number some with
of letters and
an even number of letters, all one needs to do is to place
the cards so that the red-backed card can never be
reached by the spelling procedure. The trouble is that
three other cards cannot be reached, either. Therefore,
place face cards in these positions and eliminate them as
the trick proceeds.
Obviously, any three- or five-letter cards can be substi-
tuted for the ones I use in the layout.
R{D & BLACK

J^top J-^i
9n

Roy Walton invented this location trick.

Ask Doug to shuffle the pack and then deal into a face-

down pile.He must deal fewer than 26. Secretly keep


track of the number he deals. Subtract this number from
27. This is your key number. Suppose he's dealt 18 cards.

Subtract 18 from 27, giving you 9- You must remember the


number nine.

Tell Doug, "Please pick up the cards you dealt off. Fan
through them and secretly count the red cards." When
he's done, turn away, and continue: "Set that pile down and
pick up the rest of the deck. Now you counted a certain

number of red cards. I want you to look at the faces and


count to that same number in black cards. For instance, if

you counted 12 red cards, you'd count to the twelfth black


card from the bottom. That will be your selected card."

When he's done, say, "Close up the cards and turn them
face down. Place them on top of the pile on the table."
Turn back, pattering, "What we've tried to do is have a

card selected completely at random. Now let's see if I can


read your thoughts. Pick up the deck and slowly deal the
cards, one by one, into a face-up pile. When you come to
your card, I want you to think 'stop.' But try not to pause,
hesitate, or in any way give away the position of your card.
Just continue dealing at the same pace."
As he deals, count the black cards. The card that lies at
your key number (in our example, the ninth black card) is

the one he chose. Let him deal a card or two more and
then say, "I got a strong impression a moment ago." Push
the chosen card out from the others. "Is this your card?"
The original trick is the invention of Karl Fulves. In its

effect, it is somewhat similar to "Nine to One," on page


33, but the principle is totally different.

Let's assume you're using a deck with blue backs.


You're going to use 16 cards, eight of the black suits and
eight of the red suits. The values and the specific suits

don't matter. One of the red-suit cards, however, will be


from a different deck and will have a red back. Let's say
this card is the queen of hearts.
Remove the packet of l6 cards from your pocket and
turn it face up. Deal the cards out face up. This is how
they'll appear from the spectator's view:

B R R R
R B B B
R B QH R
R B B B

So, for you to deal the packet out in a natural order-


left to right, one row below another— the cards must be
set up, from the bottom of the packet, like this:

BBBR, RQHBR, BBBR, RRRB

You'll also need a marker of some sort. A mysterious-


looking medal or a foreign coin is perfect. Any coin will do,

however. Hand the coin to a spectator, saying, "This will

aid us in an experiment to determine whether our minds


are in tune. If all works out, it might be an example of coin-
cidence. . .or it might besome mysterious form of telepa-
thy. I'll turn my back and give you some instructions. I

want you to act on impulse only. Do whatever first occurs


to you. If you stop to think, it could conceivably interfere
with any possible telepathic waves."
Turn away and give the following instructions, pausing
after each:
"Place the coin on any red card— complete freedom of
choice."
"Move the coin to the left or the right to the nearest
black card; you may choose either left or right. If there's

no black card to the left or right, just leave the coin where
it is."

"Move the coin either up or down to the nearest red


card. Again, you have the choice of going either up or
down."
"Move the coin diagonally to the nearest black card."
"Move the coin either down— towards you— or to the
right to the nearest red card."

Turn back. The coin should be resting on the queen of


hearts. "Let's see if we were able to mentally communi-
cate." Turn over, in place, all of the cards except for the
queen of hearts. "All blue backs." Remove the coin from
the queen of hearts and turn the card over. It is, of course,
the only card with a red back.
LONG-DISTANa CALLS

otnciaence
f-^^konu (^oincicii

By way of preparation, write column of numbers, from


a

one to 35, on a sheet of paper. Phone Ramona and ask her


to get a deck of cards.
"Please give the cards a good shuffle, Ramona. Now it

happens that I'm thinking of a particular card. I wonder if

you'd choose the same card. Let's find out. Cut off a pile

of cards. Set the rest of the deck aside. Now from the top,
deal your cards into a face-up pile. Please name each card
as you deal it out. Keep going until you finish the pile you
cut off."

As Ramona names each card, jot down that number

next to the appropriate number on your sheet. (Use this


shorthand: For 9 of clubs, 9C; for queens of spades, QS;
for ace of hearts, AH, etc.)

When Ramona finishes naming the cards, say, "That's


amazing! My card is in that group."
Your key numbers are 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32. Note how many
cards are in Ramona's pile. Subtract from this the next-
lower key number. Suppose the pile contained 23 cards.
Subtract the next-lower key number, which is 16. Twenty-
three minus 16 is 7. Double the result, which gives you 14.

Look at your sheet. The card at number 14 will be the one


you're thinking of.

Say to Ramona, "Pick up your pile and turn the cards


face down. Now deal the top card onto the deck and put
the next one on the bottom of your pile. Put the next one
on top of the deck and the next one on the bottom of
your pile. Keep doing this until you have only one card
left."

When she's done, say, "The card I was thinking of


was. .
." Name the card you noted at number 14. Ask,
"What's your card?" It's the same, of course.
A brief review of the latter part of the trick: Your
helper has finished listing her cards. You note the number
in the pile. Suppose the total is 14- You subtract from this

the next-lower key number, which is 8. Fourteen minus 8


is six. You double 6, giving you 12. The card you noted at

number 12 will be the one your helper will end up with.


>
9
^y^re Ujou ^kerel
Have a pencil and paper ready. Phone a friend and ask
him to get out a deck of cards. Give him the following
directions:
"Shuffle the deck. Look at the bottom card and
remember it. Count onto the table from the top of the
deck a number equal to the value of the card you looked
at. A jack counts as 11, a queen 12, and a king 13. Now place

the rest of the deck on top of those cards."


When he's done, say, "Now name the cards, starting
with the top card of the deck and working on down."
After he names the first card, say, "Stop! I forgot some-
thing. Put that card back on top. I wanted you to cut the

cards first. Cut off about half the cards and place the
other half on top."
But make sure you jot down the name of the card he
called out. This is your key card. After he cuts the cards,
say, "Now please name the cards, starting with the top
card."
As he names the cards, jot down their names, using this

shorthand: AC, 9I-I, 2D, etc. Stop writing when the specta-
tor calls the name of the key card. Suppose that card
were the 9 of diamonds. These might be the last 15 cards
you jotted down:

5D 2H 7H loH 5H 9H JS 5C AC KD JC 8H 7S 4D 9D
13 12 11 10 98765 43 2 1 - -

Now number the cards as above. Don't put a number


under your key card, nor under the card named before it.
When a number corresponds to the value of a listed card,
that's the chosen card. In the example above, the chosen
card is the lO of hearts. If there are two possibilities, elim-
inate one by naming the suit or value of one of the cards.
For instance, you might say, "I get a strong feeling that
your card is a club." If your assistant agrees, you have the
right card. If you're wrong, name the other possibility.

*
>
J^ometkina to J^niPP ^y^t
As far as I know, the original telephone trick was called
The Wizard. Spread out the cards face up and have some-
one push out a card. Then dial "The Wizard," actually a
confederate. When your friend answers the phone, ask,
"Is The Wizard there?" Immediately the confederate
begins naming the suits. Upon hearing the correct suit,
you say, "Hello." Your confederate now knows the suit of
the chosen card. She immediately begins naming the val-

ues, like this, "Ace, king, queen, jack, lO," etc. When she
names the proper value, say, "Here," and hand the phone
to the person who chose the card. The Wizard immedi-
ately tells him the name of his card.

Here we have an extremely subtle adaptation of the


same trick. Again, the deck is spread out face up and a
spectator pushes out a card. Dial the number of your con-
federate. When she answers, clear your throat. As before,
she begins naming the suits. When she hits the correct
suit, you sniff. She names the values. When she hits the
right value, you again sniff.

Hand the phone to the spectator. Whisper to him, "Ask


for your card any way you want to." When the spectator

says "Hello," your confederate says, "Hello, hello. Who's


calling, please? Hello." This, of course, creates the illusion
that she's just answered the phone.
The spectator asks for the name of his card and is

given the correct answer.


SPtCIAL ARRANGCMtNTS

Jay Ose often used this opening trick; I've made a few
minor changes.
Remove the four aces from the deck. The ace of hearts
goes on top of the deck, and the ace of diamonds goes on
the bottom. The third card from the top is the ace of
clubs, and the fourth card from the top is the ace of
spades. Place the deck in its card case.
In performance, get a volunteer— Susie; for instance.
Remove the deck from its case and set the case aside. Set
the deck on the table. Make sure no one gets a peek at
the bottom card.
"Susie, I'd like you to think of an ace— A-C-E, ace. It

could be your favorite ace, or one you don't care for at all.

Do you have an ace in mind? What is it?"

She names the ace. Suppose she names the ace of


hearts. Say, "Put your hand on top of the deck and say, 'I

v^ant the top card to be the ace of hearts.'" She does so.

Have her lift her hand. Turn over the top card, showing
that her wish has come true.

Suppose she names the ace of diamonds. Say, "Put


your hand on top of the deck and say, 'I want the bottom
card to be the ace of diamonds.'" She removes her hand
and you turn the deck over, showing the bottom card.
Make sure that you don't inadvertently show the top card
as well.
Suppose she names the ace of clubs or the ace of
spades. Say, "As I said, 'Ace, A-C-E.'" Pick up the deck.
Spell out A-C-E, dealing one card from the top into a pile

for each letter. If she named the ace of clubs, turn over
the last card you dealt. If she named the ace of spades,
turn over the current top card of the deck.
In all instances, gather up the cards and give them a

good shuffle, destroying all the evidence. As you do so,

patter about how incredible it is that she should have


thought of that very ace. Go right into your next trick.

o .
iiii mMM
^t d ^n Ljour ^Jwancls
The spectator handles the cards throughout an "impossi-
ble" location of a chosen card.
In preparation, remove all the clubs from the deck.
From top to bottom, arrange them in this order:

10 98765432AKQJ
The stack goes on the bottom of the deck, making the
jack of clubs the bottom card.
In performance, set the deck face down on the table.

Ask Bert to cut off a portion and shuffle it. Make sure he
doesn't cut into your stack. "Replace the packet on top of
the deck, please. Then take the top card, show it around,
and replace it on the top."

When Bert's done, have him give the pack a complete


cut. He, or someone else, gives the deck another com-
plete cut.
Say, "Let's try something different. Turn the deck face
up and give the cards a complete cut."

Have various spectators continue cutting the cards


until a club shows up on the face of the deck. At this
point, say, "That should be enough. The cards should be
deck face down, please."
sufficiently mixed. Turn the

You now know the position of the chosen card from


the top. How? You add 3 to the value of the bottom card.
Suppose a spectator has cut the 6 of clubs to the bottom.
Add 3 to 6, getting 9. The chosen card is ninth from the

top.The ace is figured as one.


The obvious exception is when the jack, queen, or king
of clubs is cut to the face of the deck. Just consider the
jack as one, the queen as two, and the king as three—
which should be easy to remember. So if the jack appears
on the bottom, the chosen card will be on top; if the
queen is on the bottom, the chosen card will be second
from the top-, and if it's the king, the chosen card will be
third from the top.

As before, suppose the 6 of clubs was on the bottom.


The deck is now face down on the table, and you know
the chosen card is ninth from the top.
Harry Lorayne suggested this procedure: Have the
spectator place his hand on the deck. Say, "Your card is

forty-first from the top, so please push down on the deck.


Good! It's now twenty-fifth from the top. Push down a lit-

tle harder. Hold it, hold it! You now have it ninth from the

top. Any more pushing and you might push it out of the
deck altogether. Let's check that ninth card and see if I'm

right."

Have the spectator deal off nine cards into a pile. Ask
him to name his card and then to turn over the last one
dealt.

Note
In the original version of this trick, the cards were stacked
on the bottom in their natural order. This could give the

trick away. A five shows up on the bottom, and the cho-


sen card is five from the top. Not good.

u
K^uttina tke^y^iced
Wally Wilson dazzled me with this trick. I have no idea
who originated the effect, which is a clever adaptation of

an old principle.
A simple setup is necessary. Collect the four aces and
arrange them, along with two other cards, like this: Place
an ace face up on the table. On top of this place another
ace face up. The next card— any card
lllus. 17
but an ace— is also
face up. On this

place any card but an


ace face down. And,
on top of all, two face-
down aces. So, from
the top down, you have
three face-down cards
Two Aces
(ace, ace, any card), fol-

lowed by three face-up cards (any card, ace, ace) (lllus. 17).

Place the whole stack on top of the deck.


Ready? Ask a spectator to help you. "As I riffle these
cards, please stick your finger in

wherever you wish." Hold the


deck in the dealing position
in your left hand. With
your right fingers, riffle

the outer end of the


deck from the bottom
up, going as slowly as you
can (lllus. 18). After the
lilus. 18 spectator inserts his fin-
ger, lift off the upper portion with your right hand, allow-
ing withdrawal of his finger. Turn this packet over side-
ways and place it face up onto the cards in your left hand,
saying, "We'll mark the exact spot you chose."
Even up all the cards. Ask: "And where's the card you
selected?" Fan through the pack to the first face-down
card. Lift the face-up cards with your right hand. With
your left thumb, push off the first face-down card so that
it drops to the table, still face down.
Turn over the cards in your right hand end for end and
place them beneath those in your left hand (lllus. 19).

Repeat the entire maneuver, starting with riffling the


outer ends of the cards for the insertion of the specta-
tor's finger. The business is performed four times in all.

At the end, you say, "Let's see which cards you


selected." Turn the aces face up one by one.

Note
You'll end up with a face-up card in the deck. If you don't
have an opportunity to secretly turn the card over, simply
proceed with other tricks. What with various spectators
shuffling the deck, it's not unusual that a card should turn
out to be face up. When it's noticed, simply say, "No won-
der I'm having so much trouble. We've got a face-up card

here." Then turn the card over.


L^uts j-^oker

U. R Grant developed a brief poker demonstration. The


demonstration should be done while seated at a table.

To start, you must have the four aces on top of the


deck. Casually give the deck a few riffle-shuffles, keeping
the four aces on top.
Explain, "Card sharps usually win, not by cheating, but
because they know the odds. Sometimes they resort to
cheating. But I've discovered that you don't have to know
the odds and you don't have to cheat— //you're very lucky.
And I happen to be very lucky. Let me demonstrate."
Ask Woody, who's seated opposite you, to help out.

Set the deck down and ask the person seated to your
right to cut the cards. After he picks a packet from the
top, pick up the lower portion and begin dealing. This is a

fairly normal procedure in informal games. The person


who cut the cards will place his portion on the table.
Deal two poker hands in the normal manner— one to

Woody and one to yourself. "This will be a wide-open


game," you say. "You may draw as many cards as you want.
But not more than five. . .if you don't mind."

///us. 20
You're still holding the packet you dealt from. "How
many cards do you want?" He tosses some cards aside,
and you deal him the same number. Then casually set the
remaining cards down ^o thie right of the other packet on
the table (lllus. 20). Pick up your hand and study it, mur-
muring something like, "I seem to have run out of luck.
This is the worst hand I've ever held." The point is to kill a
little time, giving onlookers a chance to forget which
packet is which. Finally discard four cards from your hand.
"I guess I'll take four."
Pick up the pile which was originally the top section
and deal yourself four cards— the aces, of course. Place
the remaining cards on top of the packet on the table.
Do some imaginary betting with Woody, then ask him
to show his hand. "As I mentioned, you don't have to be
skillful— if you're lucky."

Turn over your cards one at a time.


ALL IN Ttit MIND

UJou I II lialxt l/Uonaer

You might wonder why a trick this simple would work. After
the deck is shuffled by a spectator, Ernie, take the cards
back. Comment that you need a prediction card as you fan
through the deck, faces towards yourself. At first, fan rapidly

through the cards, noting the top card. Then fan through
more slowly, looking for the mate to the top card— the one
that matches it in color and value. Remove that card and set
it aside, face down, announcing that it's your prediction.
Hand the deck face down to Ernie, saying, "Please deal
the cards one at a time into a face-down pile." After he's
dealt 15 cards or so, say, "You may stop any time you wish."
When he stops, take the remainder of the cards from him
and set them aside.
Tell him, "Pick up the pile you dealt and turn it face up.
Now deal those into a face-up pile and stop whenever you
wish." Again, when he stops, take the cards remaining in

his hand and set them aside. Say, "Pick up the pile, turn it

face down, and deal as many as you wish."


He stops; you take the remaining cards and set them
aside. He continues, alternately dealing from a face-up
packet and a face-down packet, until only one card
remains. Take this card and set it next to your prediction
card. If the card is face up, simply turn over your predic-
tion card, showing the match. If the card is face down,
turn over the two cards simultaneously.
.'-* "v

^^^g^-
^^^^H tt^lB
Note
Make sure that the top card isn't an obvious one, like an
ace or face card. On every other deal, the "chosen" card
is briefly displayed, so it should be a spot card, which is

unlikely to be noted. If the top card is an ace or face card,


have a spectator give the cards an additional shuffle.

*
o

>
Jack Vosburgh invented this trick.

UJM Before you begin, sneak a peek at the top card of the
deck. Then you'll need the assistance of three spectators.
Set the deck on the table and ask one of the specta-
tors to cut the cards into three piles. Each of the specta-
tors now chooses a pile and takes the top card from it.

Your job is to note which of the three takes the card that
you know.
Explain, "This is an informal lie detector test. Over the

years I've acquired the ability to tell if someone is lying.

Q ,
Let's test it

decide which one of you


out. In a moment,
will tell
I'd like the three of you to
the truth about the card
X . he selected. So one of you
two should name each
will

other's card."
be a truth-teller. The other

Make sure all is understood, then turn away while the


three make their decision. When you turn back, ask each
spectator in turn which card he took. Then point to one
* spectator, saying, "You're lying." Point to a second specta-
X tor and repeat the accusation. Point to the third specta-
tor, saying, "Congratulations! You are a truth-teller."
LiJ *
How do you know? Simple. If the person who took the
> *
card you peeked at names that card, the other two are
liars. If he names some other card, then he is one of the
Hi liars; the other liar is the one who names the card you
peeked at.

D '
/3.A/4 WentJ
In many respects, this trick is a perfect demonstration of
mind reading. A card is freely chosen and returned to the
deck. The spectator immediately shuffles the deck.
Nevertheless, the mentalist finds the card.
Every so often, the trick will misfire. If there is such a
thing as telepathy, isn't it logical that occasionally the
mentalist will get the wrong signal?

Start by getting a peek at the bottom card. This is your


key card. You may give the pack a riffle shuffle, keeping
the card on the bottom. Set the deck on the table and ask
Leah to cut off a portion of the cards and set them on the
table. Say, "Please take the card you cut to and show it

around, but don't let me get a look at it." When she's

done, point to the portion she cut off, saying, "Replace

your card here and then put the rest of the deck on top."
After she does so, say, "Now give the cards a good shuf-

fle."

If she gives the deck one shuffle, say, "And another."


Chances are, however, she'll give the cards two or three
shuffles on her own. It doesn't matter whether she gives
the pack riffle-shuffles, overhand shuffles, or a combina-
tion.

Take back the deck, saying, "I'd like you all to mentally

picture the chosen card. Maybe this will help me discover


which one it is." With an expression of deep concentra-
tion, fan through the cards, faces towards yourself. Watch
for your key card. The one just preceding it is probably
the chosen card. Tentatively pull this card from the deck,
shaking your head. "I don't get strong vibrations, but this
might be your card." Set the card face down on the table.
Ask Leah to name her selection. If you get it right, nod,
and turn the card over. If not, replace the card in the

deck, saying, "Yes, I was afraid of that." Follow up with a

sure-fire mental trick.

Notes
It's possible that the chosen card could be separated
from your key card by one, two, or three cards. Some pre-

fer asking probing questions to see if this is what's hap-


pened. When this is the case, the mentalist is often able
to come up with the chosen card-eventually. I prefer the
straightforward method, even though there's a minor risk
of failure.
You can make this trick almost a certainty by using two
easily remembered key cards, like the two black aces.
Beforehand, for example, you might place the ace of clubs
on top of the deck and the ace of spades on the bottom.
Proceed as described above.
When you fan through the deck and find a single card

between the two aces, you can be quite confident that's


the one chosen. But suppose the black aces are sepa-
rated. In all likelihood, the chosen card is the one preced-
ing the ace of spades or the one after the ace of clubs. To

discover which, ask a question to distinguish the two pos-


sibilities, like, "Was it a face card?" or "Was it a red card?"

or "Did it have a very low value?"


As with the version using one key card, reveal your choice
in a very tentative manner, leaving yourself an excuse for
a possible failure.
^he uLSamboozler
Get a peek at the top card of the deck. Give the cards a
riffle-shuffle, keeping it on top. Set the deck down on the
table. Ask Megan to cut off a pile, gesturing to show that
she is to place the top portion nearer herself. Tap the card
."
which she cut to, saying, "This card will tell me. . Point to
the top card of the pile nearer her, continuing, ". . .what
that card is."

Lift off the card she cut to, look at it, remember it, and
replace it. Make sure no one else can see its face. "Your

card is—" Name the card you peeked at originally. Have


her turn the card over. You're right, of course. Toss this
card aside face up.
Place the packet nearer you on top of the other packet.
Once more you know the top card of the deck and are
ready for a repeat. But not until you blather for a moment.
"That always seems to work the first time I try it," you
might say, "but the second time is almost impossible. But
I have to try; otherwise, you might think it was mere coin-

cidence."
Repeat the trick, again discarding the named card face
up. Replace your pile on top of Megan's. Again you know
the top card.
"This last time I'm going to attempt something even
more difficult. I'm going to name both cards," you say.
Suppose the card now on top of the deck is the ace of
clubs. Megan again cuts off a pile. Tap the card she cut to,

saying, "This is the ace of clubs." Lift off the card and look
at it. Suppose it's the 3 of hearts. Nod your head and say,

"Good."
tSB

Note
This trick is definitely a "quickie;" don't dawdle.
^ke ^JwocaS-f-^cuS f-iotirc

Remove from the deck all aces, kings, queens, jacks, and
tens, placing the cards face up in a neat pile on the table.
But don't remove the cards in their natural order. You
want to create the notion that the selection is random.
You might, for example, remove the cards in this order: lO,
queen, ace, jack, and king. Remove another set of five

cards to match these exactly. In other words, take out


another lO, queen, ace, jack, and king. These are placed,
one at a time, on top of the first set. When the packet is

turned face down, the cards will be, from the top down,

lO, queen, ace, jack, king, lO, queen, ace, jack, and king.

While doing this, explain, "I need fairly high cards for
this experiment. Somehow or other, it always seems to
work better with high cards. Maybe higher cards have
more power."
Pick up the packet and turn it face down. Hold the
cards in your left hand as though about to perform an
overhand shuffle (lllus. 22). Lift some cards from the bot-
tom with your right hand and drop these on top. Do this

several times rapidly, as though shuffling. Actually, you're


merely giving the packet com-
plete cuts. The action should
be performed casually as
you continue chatting. Set
the packet on the table and
have spectators give it several

complete cuts. n^

"We have ten cards here." Deal five


cards into a pile, saying, "One, two, lllus. 7<S
three, four, five." Fan out the remaining cards, saying, "And
five more." Close up the fan and place this pile next to the
other. You now have two piles on the table. One pile is in

reverse order to the other. The first pile, for instance,

might be in this order: ace, jack, king, lO, and queen. If so,

the second pile will be in this order: queen, lO, king, jack,
and ace.
Request Rosemary's help. "What brings about a mirac-
ulous result?" you ask. "The occult? Coincidence? We sel-
dom know. Let's eliminate all but two cards and see if

these two will match. We'll start by giving you a choice of


two words which might bring about a miraculous result.
An astonishing result might be caused by telepathy or
luck. Choose one of those: telepathy or luck."
Rosemary selects one of the words.
Ask her: "Pick up either pile and spell that word, trans-
ferring one card from the top to the bottom for each letter

in the spelling. You need not stick with one pile. You can
spell a few from one and then a few from the other— any
way you want to do it—just so you spell the word correctly."
When she's done, take the top card from each pile. Put
them together and set them aside face down. "There.
We've eliminated one pair. Now you have another choice
to make. A miracle could be brought about through ESP
or fortune. Choose one of those please."
After she chooses, have her spell out her choice, trans-
ferring cards from top to bottom, just as she did before.
Again make it clear that she may switch piles at random as
she does the spelling. When she finishes, set the top card
of each pile aside as a pair, just as before. Say, "Another
pair eliminated."
"You're now down to three cards in each pile. Time for
another choice. An apparent miracle might be caused by
magic or by accident. Choose either magic or accident.
Choose one and spell it out."
As before, when Rosemary finishes, set the top two
cards aside as a pair.

"And again a choice. Is a miraculous result brought


about by sorcery or skill? Please pick one and spell it out."
When she finishes, take the top two cards and set
them aside as a pair, saying, "So we've eliminated the last
pair. Only two cards are left. You've had several choices in

eliminating the various pairs. Wouldn't it be an amazing


coincidence if these two cards should match?"
Turn the two cards over, showing the match. Pause for
a moment, as though through with the trick. "That may be
coincidence, Rosemary, but let's see if you really have the
power."
Turn over each of the other pairs, showing the other
four matches.

Notes
For the trick to work, the exact words must be used each
time. You might choose to carry a calling card on which
you have the four pairs of words listed. At the appropri-
ate time, take out the calling card, saying, "This experi-
ment won't work unless we use the appropriate magical
words." I prefer to have the "magical words" memorized.
INDEX

Are You There?, 42-43


Bamboozler, The, 59-60
Control, 13-15
Cutting the Aces, 49-51
Easy Opener, 45-46
False Cuts, 16-20
"Guts" Poker, 52-53
Hocus-Pocus Pairs, The, 61-63
It's In Your Hands, 47-48
Lie Like a Rug, 56

Lucky Card Location, 29-30


Milking the Cards, 21-22
Nine to One, 33-35
One & Only, The, 38-39
Perfectly Mental, 57-58
Phony Coincidence, 40-41
Preposterous Patter, 10-12
Prints of Magic, 26-27

Simple Speller, 31-32


Something to Sniff At, 44
Stop Sign, 36
The Fooler, 28
The Up-and-Down Shuffle, 23-24

What If Things Go Wrong?, 25


You Might Wonder, 54-55
MO una ani^one

AJitn tittle more tlian

an orainari^ deck oj^

plauina cara6^

That's right— you can perform


fantastic tricks without any special
skills. First learn how to make false

cuts, milk the cards, and do other


basic moves and maneuvers that
magicians know. Then use what you've
mastered to wow a crowd with:

The Fooler
Nine to One
Phony Coincidence
It's in Your Hands

You Might Wonder


The Hocus-Pocus Pairs

NOW YOU CAN EVEN FOOL A MAGICIAN!

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